The invention pertains to the art of food production and, more particularly, to the production of hard taco shells.
Due to the time demands placed on consumers by the everyday activities of modern life, the preparation of food products and meals from scratch has decreased and the popularity of premade or partially premade foods has increased dramatically. One such product is the taco shell. A taco shell is essentially a hard, generally U-shaped tortilla designed to hold a variety of fillings. Due to the hardness of the taco shell, the placement of the fillings and the manner in which such tacos are typically eaten, taco shells tend to break other than at the exact location where bitten. This typically results in a messy eating experience in which the fillings fall out of the taco shell. Since one of the advantages of a taco is that utensils are not necessary, it would be desirable to provide a taco shell that minimizes the tendency of the fillings to fall out during consumption.